by Terry L. Sumerlin
Someone has observed that we are always free to choose, but we’re not free to choose the consequences of our choices.
We see proof of this principle in Washington and on Wall Street. The present state of the economy is the consequence of many years of bad fiscal choices. Recovery will depend on better choices.
Young people also demonstrate the accuracy of this same concept. Unfortunately, though they are free to sow wild oats, they have no choice regarding the crop with which they’ll have to live. That's scary!
With respect to choices, they lack the wisdom of age which enables one to see the end from the beginning. Experiences, both our own and those shared by others, create this wisdom.
Presently, my concern is with how our choices impact various areas of our lives. What choices do we make that might yield unexpected and undesirable consequences?
I often jest that my career plan is to give my last speech after my 140th birthday, step off the stage and drop dead of a heart attack. I enjoy speaking so that much that I want to continue speaking as long as health permits.
However, even if my goal were realistic, an abundance of Blue Bell ice cream would likely keep me from reaching it. It is understood that no one is stopping me from choosing to eat as much ice cream as I want (and I want a lot). It is also understand that no one would stop the consequences from occurring, either.
I was close to a good man who indelibly stamped the validity of what I just said on my mind. After retirement he chose not to exercise, and then to eat whatever he wanted in the amounts he wanted. He figured the doctor had a pill to fix everything. He figured wrong! The result cost him his life.
But health is not the only area where we can make poor choices. Many misuse their minds. The Internet is one means for such.
How we use the web is our choice. What we subsequently become by its proper use or its misuse is a result that is out of our hands. Too many forget that good people are the products of good thoughts.
Similarly, we can't expect to sow nothing in our minds and reap something in our lives. In other words, it's not enough that one not misuse the mind. We must choose to use it.
Baseball great Satchel Paige said: "Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.” He said sometimes he “just sits.”
It’s amazing the number of folks who “just sits” so much of the time - in doctors’ offices, airports, restaurants and even barbershops. Or, perhaps they’re not just sitting but are on their favorite DTW.
"What's a DTW?" you ask. That stands for "designated time waster." In various meetings the DTW would be the person who is designated to speak, but who wastes everyone's time by having nothing to say or by saying it very poorly. In our daily lives the designated time wasters can be phones, social media or iPads. They can all serve very useful purposes (as can the Internet), but can also be mindless activities. Good reading or listening material, as well as stimulating conversation, is a choice with far greater benefits.
Who we spend most of our time with is also a choice. It, too, is a cause we cannot separate from effect. Many have ruined their chances for success because of the one they chose to marry. Others have done so because of their friends and mentors. Because we ultimately become the effect of what our associates and our brain food cause, it's so important that in both areas we make wise choices.
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: If the effect is something we do not want, consider that it's likely the result of a cause we did want. Choose again! Choose wisely!
Copyright @ 2011 by Terry L. Sumerlin
Monday, August 15, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
FIVE COMMON SENSE PRINCIPLES OF MONEY MANAGEMENT
by Terry L. Sumerlin
Many years ago, while struggling in business ventures, I had to work out payment arrangements with the IRS. As you might guess it was not a high point in my life. I was fortunate, though, to have an agent who was almost friendly. In fact, I consider it a badge of honor that as our discussions progressed her attitude toward me greatly improved. Perhaps she came to understand I was not a deadbeat.
At one point in our contact I commented that I truly appreciated her patience and understanding. I told her I wanted to send her one of my books in appreciation. I will never forget her response: "I sure hope it's not on money management!" We both laughed.
That was a long time ago. And, though I'm not by any means an expert on handling money, through the school of hard knocks I've learned a few common sense principles. If you already know these things perhaps it won't hurt to be reminded.
1. We are not our bank balance. When struggling financially, this is very difficult to remember. This, it seems, is due to the widely accepted and erroneous idea that success is determined by our bank balance. If we have a large one we're successful and if we don't we're failures. Unfortunately, this thinking doesn't take into account the character, relationships and accomplishments of the individual, whether wealthy or broke. It also ignores the fact that broke can be a temporary condition, while poor is often a fixed attitude.
2. We seldom have as much money as we think we do. Of all the mistaken notions that got me into financial trouble years ago this was the biggest. It was often not even with respect to what I had. It was the false notion of what I was going to have - the next big speech, the next book, some sort of windfall. Not only does this lead a person to spend money he doesn't yet possess. It creates a huge problem when one never gets the money that was expected.
3. Long term regret is the price paid for instant gratification. Smarter people than I can talk about interest rates and the monetary cost of a borrowed lifestyle. I, on the other hand, have been to school on the stress such creates. I know about that and I also know about the joy of paying as you go. There is absolutely no comparison! It's tainted pleasure to have what you can't afford. It results in a painful, stressful loss of peace of mind and self-worth. P.T. Barnum said, "Debt robs a man of his self-respect, and makes him almost despise himself."
4. It's not what you earn, but what you keep. We've all heard, "Pay yourself first." Consumer debt says most are not listening. Not having any sort of savings or emergency fund, borrowing for many becomes a "necessity." Rarely is doing without, in order to save, viewed as a necessity. Once again, P.T. Barnum said, "There is more satisfaction in rational saving, than in irrational spending." I might also add - there is more self-respect.
5. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Though Jesus made this statement, the purpose of this column is not religious in nature. My purpose here is just to say that solid money management is not simply about earning, spending, keeping and saving. In fact, even when I say "Pay yourself first," giving is not preempted. Rational saving actually positions one to be even more generous with others. It also positions a leader (a person of positive influence) to make an even greater difference, while living a more fulfilling life.
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Money can be the best of servants and the worst of masters.
© 2011 American City Business Journals Inc.
Many years ago, while struggling in business ventures, I had to work out payment arrangements with the IRS. As you might guess it was not a high point in my life. I was fortunate, though, to have an agent who was almost friendly. In fact, I consider it a badge of honor that as our discussions progressed her attitude toward me greatly improved. Perhaps she came to understand I was not a deadbeat.
At one point in our contact I commented that I truly appreciated her patience and understanding. I told her I wanted to send her one of my books in appreciation. I will never forget her response: "I sure hope it's not on money management!" We both laughed.
That was a long time ago. And, though I'm not by any means an expert on handling money, through the school of hard knocks I've learned a few common sense principles. If you already know these things perhaps it won't hurt to be reminded.
1. We are not our bank balance. When struggling financially, this is very difficult to remember. This, it seems, is due to the widely accepted and erroneous idea that success is determined by our bank balance. If we have a large one we're successful and if we don't we're failures. Unfortunately, this thinking doesn't take into account the character, relationships and accomplishments of the individual, whether wealthy or broke. It also ignores the fact that broke can be a temporary condition, while poor is often a fixed attitude.
2. We seldom have as much money as we think we do. Of all the mistaken notions that got me into financial trouble years ago this was the biggest. It was often not even with respect to what I had. It was the false notion of what I was going to have - the next big speech, the next book, some sort of windfall. Not only does this lead a person to spend money he doesn't yet possess. It creates a huge problem when one never gets the money that was expected.
3. Long term regret is the price paid for instant gratification. Smarter people than I can talk about interest rates and the monetary cost of a borrowed lifestyle. I, on the other hand, have been to school on the stress such creates. I know about that and I also know about the joy of paying as you go. There is absolutely no comparison! It's tainted pleasure to have what you can't afford. It results in a painful, stressful loss of peace of mind and self-worth. P.T. Barnum said, "Debt robs a man of his self-respect, and makes him almost despise himself."
4. It's not what you earn, but what you keep. We've all heard, "Pay yourself first." Consumer debt says most are not listening. Not having any sort of savings or emergency fund, borrowing for many becomes a "necessity." Rarely is doing without, in order to save, viewed as a necessity. Once again, P.T. Barnum said, "There is more satisfaction in rational saving, than in irrational spending." I might also add - there is more self-respect.
5. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Though Jesus made this statement, the purpose of this column is not religious in nature. My purpose here is just to say that solid money management is not simply about earning, spending, keeping and saving. In fact, even when I say "Pay yourself first," giving is not preempted. Rational saving actually positions one to be even more generous with others. It also positions a leader (a person of positive influence) to make an even greater difference, while living a more fulfilling life.
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Money can be the best of servants and the worst of masters.
© 2011 American City Business Journals Inc.
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